SB2192

Report Title:

Charter Schools

Description:

Amends the charter school funding formula; directs the auditor to submit a report to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of session to report on charter school funding amounts.

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	2192
TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2002
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

RELATING TO NEW CENTURY CHARTER SCHOOLS.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. Section 302A-1185, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

"(a) New century charter schools shall receive an allocation of state general funds based upon the operational and educational funding requirements of the schools; provided that:

(1) Beginning in fiscal year 1999-2000, and every year thereafter, the auditor shall determine the appropriate allocation based on the total department general fund appropriation and per pupil expenditure for the previous fiscal year; provided that the per pupil allocation to any new century charter school shall not exceed the department’s average per pupil expenditure based upon the inclusion of similar cost items, in the previous fiscal year; provided further that the allocation shall be no less than $5,000 per pupil, adjusted for increases in the consumer price index as prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor; and provided further that in setting the allocation, the auditor shall explicitly consider the advice of the superintendent and representatives of local school boards and indicate in the final determination the manner in which that advice was accommodated[;] and shall submit a report to the Legislature annually no later than twenty days before the convening of the regular session which shall include the allocation for each new century charter school, and the recommendations of the superintendent and local school boards;

(2) Small schools with fewer than one hundred twenty students may be given a state subsidy or small school allotment, as determined by the department, to augment the per pupil allocation given; provided that if additional federal grant moneys are received, the auditor shall determine the appropriate portion of the federal grant moneys to be used to offset the small school allotment; provided further that the federal grant moneys shall not include federal impact aid;

(3) The department may provide a limited start-up and planning grant formulated by the auditor to a charter school upon the issuance of its charter;

(4) The auditor shall take into consideration any changes to the department's budget made by the legislature or the governor and any applicable collective bargaining negotiated amounts;

(5) The allocation for self-contained special education students and for other special education students shall be adjusted appropriately to reflect the additional expenses incurred for students in these programs; provided that any increment to the per pupil allocation made in this paragraph shall not exceed the increment available to all other public schools; and

(6) The auditor shall develop a methodology for allocating funds that can be applied to alternative forms of public schools, including but not limited to new century charter schools.

SECTION 2. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2002.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________
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